Tuesday, February 19, 2002

To the Toronto Autoshow yesterday. Stop by the Mercedes-Benz stand to ask whether they are planning to bring the smart car to North America.A spokesman says "Yes, er, No. It won't pass the crash test. It won't meet the safety, it has no bumpers. We will bring in the A class."How this reconciles with the Atlanta electric smart car project is anybody's guess. Surely the electric smart must be crash-tested?On to the Transport Canada stand where they have an MCC Smart Cabriolet on display and are promoting its green credentials. They say they are testing the vehicle for use in Canada but it is up to the manufacturer to get it certified. This is where we came in.I point out that people interested in economy tend to be people with limited funds and therefore unlikely to spring up to $30,000CDN for a new Toyota Prius or Honda Insight.